Communication and Human Development

Islamic moral responsibility in decision making

Abstract: This study looks at the ethical and moral responsibilities of Muslims in the area of problem solving and decision-making. This moral responsibility is based on the objectives of the shari’ah (maqasid al-shari’ah) and ijtihad. This author defines management from an Islamic perspective (MIP) as "an effort by Muslim management experts to advise, based on evidence, two groups of Muslims. The first are legal scholars to help them derive fiqh rulings related to management. The second are practitioners, so that they manage their organisations taking ijtihad into consideration." A key issue is that some Muslims are appointed to management positions even though they have not been trained to solve problems. To remedy this problem, this author distinguishes between simple and complex problems and proposes nine 'thinking-tools.' It is argued that if Muslims do not use such tools, they are likely to fail in their moral responsibility to their firms and to the society at large.